⌙ Annexes

Digital Diplomacy 2020-II Methodology

María Catalina Micolta

METHODOLOGY

This study on the People’s Republic of China’s digital diplomacy in Latin America and the Caribbean is a continuation of the study previously published by the Andrés Bello Foundation focusing on the first half of 2020, entitled China’s communication with foreign audiences. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used for this study. The former, to collect statistical data from each of the Twitter accounts belonging to the diplomatic representations and representatives of the PRC in LAC and, the latter, to analyze the content of each of the tweets of these accounts and contrast it with the quantitative information collected during the study period (January – December 2020).

A number of criteria were taken into account when selecting the Twitter accounts that were the subject of this study. The first of these was the verification of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and each of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean [1]. As of 2020, the People’s Republic of China has diplomatic relations with the following Latin American and Caribbean countries:

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The second criterion for the selection of Twitter accounts consisted in the effective creation of these accounts by the representations (Embassies and Consulates) and/or diplomatic representatives (Ambassadors and Consuls) of the People’s Republic of China in these countries. For this, the following elements were taken into account:

  • Verification by Twitter
  • Account in the name of the Embassy
  • Account in the name of the Consulate
  • Accounts in the name of the Ambassador and/or Consul, as appropriate.
  • Description and content of each account.

Accounts associated with any other diplomatic personnel, such as attaché offices, counselors, spokespersons, etc., were discarded.

By using the “Twitter Advanced Search” application and comparing the results with each of the pages of the diplomatic missions of the People’s Republic of China and applying other confirmation elements such as “description”, “location mark”, “content”, “followers,” and “accounts followed,” [2] we found a total of 28 Twitter accounts distributed in the Latin American and Caribbean countries for the year 2020, according to the following table. In 2020, a total of 28 Twitter accounts were found in Latin American and Caribbean countries, as shown in the table below:

CountryOfficial relationsAccountInstitution / Name
Antigua and BarbudaYes@ChinaEmbAntiguaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
ArgentinaYes@ChinaEmbArgEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
BahamasYes––
BarbadosYes@YXiushengAmbassador – Yan Xiucheng
BoliviaYes@ConsuladoCHNSCConsulate General of the People’s Republic of China – Santa Cruz
BoliviaYes@WangJialei4Consul – Wang Jialei
BrasilYes@EmbaixadaChinaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
BrasilYes@WanmingYangAmbassador – Yang Wanming
BrasilYes@CGChinaSPConsulate General of the People’s Republic of China – São Paulo
BrasilYes@ConsulChinaRJConsulate General of the People’s Republic of China – Rio de Janeiro
BrasilYes@CGChinaLiYangConsul in Río de Janeiro – Li Yang
ChileYes@ChinaEmbajadaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
ColombiaYes@china_embajadaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
Costa RicaYes––
CubaYes@EmbChinaCubaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
DominicaYes––
EcuadorYes@EmbajadaChinaEcEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
El SalvadorYes@EmbajadaChinaSVEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
El SalvadorYes@oujianhongAmbassador – Ou Jianhong
GranadaYes@ChinaEmbGrenadaEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
GranadaYes@DrZhaoyongchenAmbassador – Zhao Yongchen
GuyanaYes––
JamaicaYes––
MexicoYes––
PanamaYes@weiasecasAmbassador – Wei Qiang
PeruYes@ChinaEmbPeruEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
Dominican RepublicYes@ChinaEmbajadaRDEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
Dominican RepublicYes@EmbZhangRun Ambassador – Zhang Run
SurinamYes@CHNEmbSurinameEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
SurinamYes@AmbLiuQuanAmbassador – Liu Quan
Trinidad and TobagoYes@ChineseEmbinTTEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
Trinidad and TobagoYes@AmbFangQiuAmbassador – Fang Qiu
UruguayYes––
VenezuelaYes@Emb_ChinaVenEmbassy of the People’s Republic of China
VenezuelaYes@Li_BaorongAmbassador – Li Baorong

Of the 24 diplomatic representations of the People’s Republic of China in Latin America and the Caribbean, only 17 have Twitter accounts. The final result, including diplomatic representations and representatives, is 28 accounts, of which two presented no activity during the study period: Antigua and Barbuda (@ChinaEmbAntigua) and Suriname (CHNEmbSuriname).

“Twitter Advanced Search” was used for the quantitative analysis, along with the “Twitonomy” application, through which the following statistical data was compiled for each of the accounts analyzed:

  • Date of creation of each account
  • Account verification by Twitter
  • Account activity / Number of monthly tweets (Nov 2019 – December 2020) [3]
  • Most frequently retweeted users (Jan – Dec 2020)
  • Most frequently mentioned users (Jan – Dec 2020)
  • Most frequently replied to users (Jan – Dec 2020)
  • Most widely used hashtags (Jan – Dec 2020)

The quantitative analysis of the accounts followed on Twitter by the representations and diplomatic representatives of the PRC in LAC and the followers of these accounts shows an exception in the temporal range of the search for information. Bearing in mind that the information on the number of accounts followed and the number of followers can only be obtained at the date of the search and that this was only possible in mid-2021, all the data collected on these items correspond to the month of July 2021. The “Twitter Advanced Search” and the “Followerwonk” applications were used for this quantitative analysis. The latter application makes it possible not only to determine the number of followers and accounts followed, but it also provides a series of elements that made it possible to carry out a study on the georeferencing of these accounts and the language most commonly used. It also allowed us to take a sample of both the accounts followed and the accounts of the followers, on the basis of which categories were constructed to analyze their characteristics.

With the quantitative information collected, a half-yearly and total consolidation of the accounts with each of these items was carried out to verify the variations between the two semesters of the year 2020 and the general trend in accordance with the characteristics of public diplomacy in the People’s Republic of China.

A meticulous manual study was conducted for the qualitative analysis to detail the content of the tweets of each of the accounts during the period analyzed (January – December 2020), in order to determine the most relevant topics and the tone used in the accounts.

Finally, a combination of both methodologies was used to construct the categories of analysis present throughout the study. Accordingly, the following categories were constructed to gather the main characteristics corresponding to the item “Types of account followers”:

  • Citizen (Foreign audience): Ordinary citizens’ Twitter accounts (Foreign audience).
  • Citizen Private account: Twitter accounts of possible citizens, but impossible to verify as they are private.
  • Chinese or Taiwanese Citizen: Twitter accounts of citizens from PRC or Taiwan (Not considered a foreign audience).
  • Influencer: Twitter accounts of public figures outside the PRC (Writers, musicians, politicians, businesspeople, etc.) (Foreign audience).
  • Chinese government: Twitter accounts of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its spokespersons, as well as the accounts of PRC representatives and diplomatic representations in other countries around the world.
  • Content amplifier: Twitter accounts belonging to people who post content about the PRC.
  • BOT: Twitter accounts managed by software to perform specific actions tending to generate content favorable to the PRC.
  • Suspended or deleted account: Twitter accounts that are no longer available because they have been deleted or have been suspended for violating the platform’s policies.

The following categories were constructed to capture the main characteristics corresponding to the item “Types of accounts followed”:

  • Chinese government: Twitter accounts of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its spokespersons, as well as the accounts of PRC representatives and diplomatic representations in other countries around the world.
  • Chinese media: Twitter accounts of state-owned media in different languages.
  • Influencers: Twitter accounts of public figures outside the PRC. (Writers, musicians, politicians, businesspeople, etc.) (Foreign audience).
  • Citizen: Ordinary citizens’ Twitter accounts (Foreign audience).
  • Foreign governments and media: Twitter accounts of governments and/or government representatives from countries other than Latin America and the Caribbean. Twitter accounts of media other than those from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The following categories were constructed for the items “Most frequently mentioned users” and “Users with the highest number of responses”, also using the two methodologies in combination:

  • Government entities: Twitter accounts of the presidents and prime ministers of Latin American and Caribbean countries, ministries, regional and municipal government entities, as well as the accounts of the representatives in the Legislative Assemblies.
  • Personal accounts: Twitter accounts of each Chinese diplomatic representation in Latin American and the Caribbean.
  • Citizens: Ordinary citizens’ Twitter accounts (Foreign audience).
  • Chinese government: Twitter accounts of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and its spokespersons.
  • Media: Twitter accounts of Latin American and Caribbean media (press, radio and television), and journalist accounts.
  • Foreign governments: Twitter accounts of governments and/or government representatives from countries other than Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Multilateral organisms: Official Twitter accounts of different Multilateral Organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in different languages.
  • Chinese media: Twitter accounts of state-owned media in different languages.
  • Influencers:  Twitter accounts of public figures in countries where China’s diplomatic representation is based, and globally. (Writers, musicians, politicians, businesspeople, etc.) (Foreign audience).
  • Foreign media: Twitter accounts of media other than those of Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Chinese companies: Twitter accounts of Chinese companies such as: Huawei, Alibaba Group and Foundation Ma.

Finally, the following categories were constructed for the “Most widely used hashtags” item, taking into account the most relevant topics in each of the accounts analyzed:

  • COVID-19: For direct mention of SARSCovid-19, the following were used: #COVID, #Covid-19, #Coronavirus; #Covid, #COVID-19 and #Pandemia
  • CHINA: Evolution of the health crisis in China. The following were used: #China, #Wuhan and #Hubei
  • SOLIDARIDAD: To call for solidarity from all countries in the fight against the pandemic. Several purposes: to build support and trust for China; to counter the effect of accusations over the origin of the virus; and to highlight China’s international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. The following were used: #chinayuda, #Solidaridad, #Unidoscontraelvirus, #Handinhandwestand, #lasaludnosune, #togetherwecan, #vivalaamistad, #juntosvenceremos, #solidarityandcooperation, #estamosjuntosenesto and #unidosvenceremos
  • COUNTRY COOPERATION: For support and cooperation, material and non-material, with each of the host countries of the diplomatic representation. The following were used: #fuerza(country name), #(country name) and #quedateencasa.
  • VERACITY OF INFORMATION: To counteract the dissemination of biased and misleading information, such as: the dubious origin of the virus, its possible Chinese laboratory design, China’s initial handling of the health crisis caused by the virus, among other Covid-related issues that could affect China’s image. The most widely used were the following: #info, #Importante, #debessaber, #realitycheck, #laverdad and #verdaderofalso.
  • CHINESE GOVERNMENT: China’s own political issues. The following were used: #Xijinping, #twosessions, #dossesiones and #whitepaper.
  • PROMOTING CHINA: To promote Chinese culture and tourism in China. The following were used: #splendidchina, #añonuevochino, #kungfu, #artechino, #patrimoniocultural, #patrimoniohistorico and #visitchinaonline.
  • USA: To refer to the US government’s direct attacks on China and criticism of the US for its position on the pandemic. The following were used: #EEUU and #eeuu, #inmoralidad, #racismo.
  • MULTILATERAL ORGANISMS: Supporting and cooperating with multilateral organizations, in particular the World Health Organization, and defending them against criticism from the US government. The following were used: #OMS and #WHO.
  • TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS/G5: Mention of different technological developments in China, technology cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries, particularly in the context of the pandemic, and promotion of G5 technology. The following were used: #tecnología and #G5.

Notes

[1] The selection of Latin American and Caribbean countries was based on their membership in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

[2] The following accounts were discarded because they did not meet any of the selection criteria: @EmbassyBahamas, @mexico_china and @China_Mexico.

[3] In this point, the search range was extended to November 2019 to better understand the trend in the accounts activity and the repercussions of the COVID19 global health crisis in China´s public diplomacy.

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